Full Text of HB1485 94th General Assembly
HB1485 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB1485
Introduced 02/10/05, by Rep. Julie Hamos SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
|
New Act |
|
30 ILCS 105/5.640 new |
|
|
Creates the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Act. Provides that the Environmental Protection Agency must promulgate rules that set performance standards for ballast water discharge and the management of other vectors of aquatic invasive species introduced from ocean-going vessels into the Great Lakes. Sets forth that the Agency shall administer a permit program requiring the compliance of ocean-going vessels to the standards created by the Agency. Provides for the creation of an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund for use by the Agency for prevention, control, and reclamation efforts related to aquatic invasive species. Authorizes any person to bring a civil lawsuit for the enforcement of the provisions of the Act. Provides that the Agency shall suspend enforcement of the Act's provisions if a federal law is enacted after the effective date of the Act that requires ballast water management practices equivalent to or more restrictive than those required in the Act. Makes other changes.
|
| |
|
|
| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
|
|
A BILL FOR
|
|
|
|
|
HB1485 |
|
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| AN ACT concerning safety.
| 2 |
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 |
| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Statement of intent. It is the intent of this | 7 |
| Act to prevent the introduction and to minimize the spread of | 8 |
| aquatic invasive species within the State waters of the Great | 9 |
| Lakes. | 10 |
| Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act: | 11 |
| "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection | 12 |
| Agency. | 13 |
| "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the State | 14 |
| of Illinois. | 15 |
| "Department" means the Illinois Department of Natural | 16 |
| Resources. | 17 |
| "Fund" means the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund. | 18 |
| "Ocean-going vessels" means ships operating outside of | 19 |
| Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie and | 20 |
| their tributaries. | 21 |
| "Person" means an individual, partnership, co-partnership, | 22 |
| firm, company, limited liability company, corporation, | 23 |
| association, joint stock company, trust, estate, other legal | 24 |
| entity, or its legal representative or agent operating or | 25 |
| owning ocean-going vessels on the State waters of the Great | 26 |
| Lakes. | 27 |
| "Stakeholders" means citizens, organizations, agencies, | 28 |
| businesses, or others injured by the release or likely release | 29 |
| of aquatic invasive species. | 30 |
| "State waters of the Great Lakes" means the surface water | 31 |
| under jurisdiction of the State of Illinois in the Great Lakes |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| and waters that discharge, flow into, or otherwise are | 2 |
| transferred into the Great Lakes. | 3 |
| "Vector" means the pathway and mechanism of entry for | 4 |
| aquatic invasive species into the 4 upper Great Lakes. | 5 |
| Section 15. Standards for ocean-going vessels. | 6 |
| (a) Any person operating an ocean-going vessel equipped | 7 |
| with ballast tanks entering State waters of the Great Lakes | 8 |
| must comply with performance standards that: | 9 |
| (1) have the goal of eliminating risk of introduction | 10 |
| of non-native species, including plant, animal, and human | 11 |
| pathogens, into the State waters of the Great Lakes; | 12 |
| (2) are supported by comprehensive findings of | 13 |
| scientific and policy research; | 14 |
| (3) are measurable; and | 15 |
| (4) are environmentally protective and sound. | 16 |
| (b) No later than 12 months after the effective date of | 17 |
| this Act, the Agency shall promulgate final rules for | 18 |
| performance standards for ballast water discharge and the | 19 |
| management of other vectors of aquatic invasive species | 20 |
| introduction from ocean-going vessels, including sea chests, | 21 |
| anchor chains, hull fouling, and solid sediment in ballast | 22 |
| tanks, that require either: | 23 |
| (1) a 95% volumetric exchange of water on the open | 24 |
| ocean in each ballast tank containing water to be | 25 |
| discharged into the State waters of the Great Lakes as | 26 |
| demonstrated by a computer model or dye study reviewed and | 27 |
| approved by the Agency; or | 28 |
| (2) ballast water treatment using the best available | 29 |
| technology for a given class of ships, provided the | 30 |
| treatment delivers at least a 95% kill or removal of live | 31 |
| aquatic vertebrates, macroinvertebrates, phytoplankton, | 32 |
| zooplankton, and macroalgae present in both water and | 33 |
| sediment from ballast tanks using environmentally sound | 34 |
| methods as demonstrated in large-scale pilot studies | 35 |
| reviewed and accepted by the Agency. |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| (c) In promulgating rules under this Section, the Agency | 2 |
| shall consult with the other states and Canadian provinces | 3 |
| bordering the Great Lakes and, when possible, promote uniform | 4 |
| regulatory policies among these governing bodies. | 5 |
| Section 20. Permits; fees; fines. | 6 |
| (a) No later than 12 months after the effective date of | 7 |
| this Act, a person shall not operate on the State waters of the | 8 |
| Great Lakes an ocean-going vessel capable of discharging | 9 |
| ballast water, whether equipped with a ballast water tank | 10 |
| system or otherwise, unless the vessel has been issued a permit | 11 |
| by the Agency and the vessel is equipped with all the necessary | 12 |
| equipment to discharge the ballast water or sediment in | 13 |
| compliance with the permit and the standards promulgated under | 14 |
| this Act. An application for a permit under this subsection | 15 |
| shall be submitted in the manner required by the Agency and | 16 |
| shall contain the information required by the Agency. The | 17 |
| Agency shall assess permit application and inspection fees in | 18 |
| amounts necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. | 19 |
| (b) Beginning January 1, 2008, a person operating an | 20 |
| ocean-going vessel electing to utilize 95% volumetric exchange | 21 |
| to satisfy performance standards is required to pay a fee to be | 22 |
| determined by the Agency, but not less than $1,000, to the | 23 |
| Agency prior to each discharge of ballast water into the State | 24 |
| waters of the Great Lakes. | 25 |
| (c) A person determined to be in violation of the standards | 26 |
| promulgated by the Agency under Section 15 of this Act is | 27 |
| subject to a fine to be determined by the Agency, but not less | 28 |
| than $25,000 per violation. | 29 |
| Section 25. Notification. Any person operating an | 30 |
| ocean-going vessel must issue a report via fax or e-mail to the | 31 |
| Agency at least 24 hours prior to any port operation undertaken | 32 |
| while on the State waters of the Great Lakes detailing | 33 |
| compliance with the permit required under Section 20. |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 4 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| Section 30. Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund; | 2 |
| (a) The Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund is created | 3 |
| as a special fund in the State treasury. | 4 |
| (b) The Agency shall use this Fund, subject to | 5 |
| appropriation, for the following purposes, not in order of | 6 |
| priority: | 7 |
| (1) further prevention of aquatic invasive species; | 8 |
| (2) further control of the spread of existing aquatic | 9 |
| invasive species; and | 10 |
| (3) reclamation of aquatic resources injured as a | 11 |
| result of aquatic invasive species. | 12 |
| (c) The Agency shall deposit all moneys collected under | 13 |
| this Act into the Fund. | 14 |
| (d) Interest generated by the Fund shall be reinvested in | 15 |
| the Fund. | 16 |
| Section 35. Monitoring. The Agency shall, in cooperation | 17 |
| with the Department, establish a regular inspection system to | 18 |
| ensure that the standards under this Act are being achieved. | 19 |
| Section 40. Review and enforcement. | 20 |
| (a) Any person may bring a civil action to enforce the | 21 |
| provisions of this Act and be eligible to recover reasonable | 22 |
| attorney fees and costs. | 23 |
| (b) The Attorney General may recover damages as a result of | 24 |
| enforcement actions taken under this Act, which shall be | 25 |
| deposited in the Fund and shall be adequate for, at a minimum, | 26 |
| the reclamation of aquatic resources damaged by unauthorized | 27 |
| releases. | 28 |
| (c) At least every 3 years beginning on January 1, 2008, | 29 |
| the Agency shall evaluate the effectiveness of the performance | 30 |
| of the standards promulgated under this Act and determine | 31 |
| whether they have been effective in preventing the introduction | 32 |
| and minimizing the spread of aquatic invasive species within | 33 |
| the State waters of the Great Lakes. If the Agency determines | 34 |
| that the performance standards have not been effective in |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 5 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| achieving a complete prohibition on introductions of new | 2 |
| aquatic invasive species for the vectors covered in this Act | 3 |
| for State waters of the Great Lakes, the Agency may promulgate | 4 |
| revised performance standards removing the option for | 5 |
| ocean-going vessels to utilize 95% volumetric exchange of | 6 |
| ballast water, and shall promulgate additional or alternative | 7 |
| performance standards to accomplish the goals of this Act. | 8 |
| (d) The Agency shall suspend enforcement of the | 9 |
| requirements of this Act if a federal law is enacted or federal | 10 |
| regulations are promulgated after the effective date of this | 11 |
| Act that require vessels operating on the Great Lakes to comply | 12 |
| with ballast water management practices that are equal to or at | 13 |
| least as restrictive as those described in this Act. If a | 14 |
| federal law is enacted or federal regulations are promulgated, | 15 |
| as described in this subsection, the Agency shall review the | 16 |
| effectiveness of the federal law or regulations in preventing | 17 |
| the introduction of new aquatic invasive species within the | 18 |
| Great Lakes every 3 years. If, as a result of this review, the | 19 |
| Agency determines that reinstating the enforcement of the | 20 |
| requirements of this Act and the rules promulgated under this | 21 |
| Act would be more effective than the federal law or regulations | 22 |
| in preventing the introduction and minimizing the spread of | 23 |
| aquatic invasive species, the Agency shall reinstate | 24 |
| enforcement of the requirements of this Act and the rules | 25 |
| promulgated under this Act. | 26 |
| Section 45. Research. | 27 |
| (a) The Department, in cooperation with the Agency and | 28 |
| Attorney General, shall prepare, within 6 months after the | 29 |
| effective date of this Act, a report detailing the specific | 30 |
| sources of and the extent of the damage caused to the aquatic | 31 |
| resources of the State by the introduction of aquatic invasive | 32 |
| species through the following vectors: ocean-going vessels, | 33 |
| intentional and unintentional release from aquaculture | 34 |
| operations both within and outside of the State, pet and | 35 |
| aquarium trade, and live food fish sales. The report shall |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 6 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| identify the types and amount of information that should be | 2 |
| collected to establish the specific vector of an aquatic | 3 |
| invasive species at the time of discovery of an introduction | 4 |
| into State waters. The Department shall also identify the types | 5 |
| and amounts of information that should be collected to | 6 |
| establish the types and amounts of damages associated with | 7 |
| infestations of invasive species in State waters of the Great | 8 |
| Lakes in ecologic and economic terms. | 9 |
| (b) The Attorney General, in cooperation with the Agency | 10 |
| and the Department, shall prepare, within 6 months after the | 11 |
| completion of the report required under subsection (a), an | 12 |
| assessment of the options available to the State and a legal | 13 |
| justification for taking action, or alternatively not taking | 14 |
| action, to compel repair of the existing damages described in | 15 |
| the Department's report. This assessment shall include a | 16 |
| determination of what information is required to attach legal | 17 |
| liability for a new aquatic invasion to a specific vessel | 18 |
| owner, vessel operator, port, aquaculture facility, retail or | 19 |
| wholesale food store, bait dealer, or pet dealer. Any monetary | 20 |
| damages recovered due to legal actions associated with this | 21 |
| work shall be paid into the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention | 22 |
| Fund. | 23 |
| (c) The Department shall establish, within 18 months after | 24 |
| the effective date of this Act, and in cooperation with the | 25 |
| Agency and the Attorney General, a research and sampling | 26 |
| program for all ocean-going vessels entering the State waters | 27 |
| of the Great Lakes. The Department shall, based on the findings | 28 |
| of the above studies, collect the data required to determine | 29 |
| the geographic source, specific vector, and legal liability for | 30 |
| the introduction of any potential aquatic invasive species | 31 |
| present in the ballast water tanks, sea chests, anchor chains, | 32 |
| hulls, and other locations on an ocean-going vessel. | 33 |
| (d) All ocean-going vessels entering State waters of the | 34 |
| Great Lakes shall be made available for inspection and | 35 |
| sampling, both prior to and after ballast water discharge | 36 |
| activities, by the Agency, the Department, and the Attorney |
|
|
|
HB1485 |
- 7 - |
LRB094 10131 RSP 40392 b |
|
| 1 |
| General as needed for completion of the research specified in | 2 |
| this Section.
| 3 |
| Section 50. Rules The Agency shall adopt rules to implement | 4 |
| and administer this Act. | 5 |
| Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 6 |
| Section 5.640 as follows: | 7 |
| (30 ILCS 105/5.640 new)
| 8 |
| Sec. 5.640. The Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund.
|
|